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In The Day of Veneta, our Head Stylist
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In The Day of Veneta, our Head Stylist
It's employee appreciation day and what better way to celebrate than getting to know our Head Stylist and Senior Buyer, Veneta! Discover what she does on a daily basis and her key highlights in her career that have brought her here today.
Since the very beginning, it has been an everyday challenge. My professional career in retail passed through different stages, from shop assistant to manager, from visual merchandiser to stylist, from content creator to buyer. The list is really too long, but to sum up, I really enjoyed each one of those stages. Every my past experience is my today inspiration!
My wardrobe is very minimal, where black colour is the winner. I don’t like to spend on high street brands. I prefer the independent boutique statement pieces. My everyday working uniform is a maxi shirt with pair of trousers, combined with a pair of black pumps or chunky leather ankle boots. In my free time you could see me with a black tailored jacket, white t-shirt and a pair of trousers.
Well, as a senior buyer, the trips are twice a year during also the seasonal fashion weeks in Milan, Paris and London. During the trips we visit different showrooms, shows and exhibitions. The days are very busy and full of appointments and scouting for new designers and trends. We meet some of the designers and it's always fascinating to hear their inspirations for the collections. Talking to the designers is very important for the buyer. In this case I am also the head stylist and both roles, buyer and stylist are extremely connected. The inspiration for creating the outfits comes from the designers meetings, the trips and personal taste and vision.
This year is different from the previous buying seasons. Our trips are limited just in the UK, visiting showrooms. For the rest of the designers, which we usually visit in Milan and Paris, the orders for the new AW21 collections are placed through online meetings. It's very challenging, especially when choosing and ordering new designers.
A typical day as a stylist. The styling role is an every day role. This can be for a photo session, visual merchandising, shop windows or styling for a customer.
For a photo session. The outfits have been prepared in advance accordingly to the concept and ideas for the project. I work closely with the photographer and the models. Everything needs to be in full " synchrony ". It's very important to meet the stylist vision and the photographer performance. In this way the final result will be fashionably amazing.
When it comes to styling for customers, it's now unfortunately through the phone, face time or zoom meeting. It is always interesting listening the customers demands and ideas. It's very important to listen to the customers and capture what they really want and expect from me. Building trust and confidence is crucial. My priority is to present the best possible idea for an outfit and advice for every single customer and transmit my experience and make them feel confident in the clothes they are wearing.
What I like to have with me every day is one of my designers maxi bags, my companion in all my trips. The other item is my phone, which I constantly use for my daily inspiration and keeps me up to date with all the fashion news around the globe.
With the Shop windows, there is always planning into this. Windows are the "face" of the shop and they need to represent rightly Oliva May trends and designers. Many times, I observe the people who stop and look at the windows and their reactions. This could help in the choices of clothes for the mannequins.
Easy to say looking at the way I dress, that these are our Japanese designer Moyuru and the German brand Rundholz, for their shapes, colours and fabrics. Both brands represent my everyday style. As for the foot wear I just love the Lofina brand, which is very comfortable and stylish.
Sustainability at Olivia May
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